Thursday, June 17, 2010

Whole Wheat Burger Buns

Next on the list of foods to eat with mayonnaise: Cheeseburgers. Admittedly burgers and sandwiches don't use up a lot of mayonnaise, but knowing that my jar of homemade mayo has a brief fridge-life of around 5 days, I'm wanting to get as much use out of it as possible.*

So today, as a vehicle for my homemade mayo, I made whole wheat burger buns. Something a teensy bit healthier than the last ones... 
 
Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
adapted from: page 34, BH&G Homemade Bread Cook Book, 1973

3-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 packages active dry yeast
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 eggs
3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) whisk together the whole wheat flour and the yeast. In a small saucepan over med/low hear, combine the milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Stir constantly until butter is melted and mixture is at 115°-120°. Add this to the flour/yeast in mixer bowl, then add in the eggs. Beat at low speed just until combined. Scrape the bowl and beat for 3 minutes at high speed (med-high if using a stand mixer).

Stir in by hand the remaining 3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour to make a somewhat stiff dough. Turn out on floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. If using a stand mixer, replace beater with dough hook and add the remaining flour one cup at a time on low setting. Continue until dough is smooth and elastic.

Place dough in greased bowl and turn over once. Cover and let rise in warm place till double (about 1-1/2 hours). Punch down, cover, let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into 16 portions. Shape into buns by folding edges under to make a round ball. Press flat between hands. Place on greased baking sheets (or use Silpats or parchment), pressing down flatten into circles. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes or until almost doubled. Bake at 400° about 15-18 minutes, rotating pan half way through. Let buns cool completely before slicing and serving. Makes 16 hamburger buns.

My Notes: When shaping them, work fast so the dough doesn't dry out. Maybe drape a damp towel over the dough as it waits to be shaped. They turned out great. Denser than the non-whole wheat buns, not as pillowy-soft, but really pretty good. Should easily stand up to a juicy burger or even a sloppy-Joe or pulled pork sandwich.

*On the mayo's last day I'll be making my mom's Curried Chicken Divan which uses 2/3 of a cup of mayonnaise. Speaking of 1960's-era cooking classics that use lots of mayonnaise... Mayonnaise Chocolate Cake! It's not something that I grew up with, but it just jumped in my head. I'll have to see if there's a recipe for it in one of my "older" cookbooks.
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4 comments:

  1. Yeah, we're all synchronicitied up here. I just bought a bunch of yeast, and this will be a PERFECT use for it (with the homemade mayo I will attempt again this week). Just hope the high altitude doesn't mess with it. Even when I'm not in the mountains, I'm at 6500 ft, so baking is a little hairy sometimes. Have any good pita recipes, btw? I promised the kiddo I'd try making pitas soon.

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  2. Leslie: I've never tried baking at high altitude but I know it can pose special "challenges". I checked the book that this recipe came from and it says that breads rise more rapidly in high-alt; you can try using a little less yeast, but keep an eye on the dough either way and bake once it has doubled in size. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!

    As for pita bread, I'm game! I'll post it as soon as I give it a go!

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  3. yeah...we still think you've gone round the bend! ~sharkbait

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  4. SharkBait: Indeed I have! And I kinda like it here! :)

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